Looking at the Key Takeaways from the Arizona Basketball win

Picking up the dominant exhibition win over Western Oregon, we look at the key takeaways from the victory by No. 17 Arizona Basketball.

The 2022-23 Arizona Basketball season is here, and the Wildcats started things off with a bang, earning a dominant 91-61 victory over Western Oregon.

Using a solid offensive and defensive effort, the Wildcats used a strong second half while also holding the Wolves to 38.3 percent shooting for the game, including 31.4 percent in the second half.

Arizona’s Azuolas Tubelis also put up a strong showing, proving why he is a preseason Pac-12 First-Teamer as he led all Arizona scorers with 19 points on 9-16 shooting.

With Arizona Basketball starting on the right foot, we look at the major takeaways following the Wildcats’ win over Western Oregon.

Courtney Ramey will be the Ultimate ‘Glue Guy’ for Arizona

Playing in just his second game with the Wildcats, the fifth-year senior and former Texas guard  had a hell of a game for the Wildcats.

Logging 22 minutes, Ramey finished his evening with 10 points on 4-8 shooting while grabbing two rebounds, dishing two assists, and earning three steals.

His impact was felt in a big way last night, and while he may not quite have the talent of Dalen Terry, he has that same quality as Terry where he can impact the game on so many levels.

Beyond his veteran leadership, Courtney does all the things that don’t necessarily show up in the stat sheet, and that is why he will the ultimate glue guy for Arizona this year.

Arizona’s Post Defense will take a step back in 2022-23

Last night against Western Oregon, the Wildcats got quite a bit of offensive production from its post players.

Tubelis scored 19 points, meanwhile, Oumar Ballo finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds on 5-9 shooting. Freshmen Henri Veesaar and Dylan Anderson finished with three and seven points respectively.

However, on the defensive end, the Wildcats lost a lot in the absence of Christian Koloko. Granted, replacing the Conferences’ Defensive Player of the Year is never easy; however, Arizona did struggle with its interior defense last night, and I do see them having some defensive issues down low in 2022-23.

Adama Bal looks more Confident & Aggressive

Seemingly making a big jump from his freshman season to his sophomore year, French guard Adama Bal was impressive as he came off the bench in the Wildcats’ 91-61 win.

Logging 15 minutes, Bal scored an impressive 15 points and grabbed six rebounds, and most of his points came at the free throw line too, where Bal went 10-11.

Last night, Adama looked poised and confident, and more importantly, aggressive with the Wildcats. And to me, he is the ultimate x-factor for the Wildcats this year. If he can get rolling, Arizona’s success on the hardwood will be that much greater.

Arizona will be an inconsistent Perimeter Shooting Team

Against Western Oregon, the Wildcats did not shoot the ball particularly well from three, finishing just 3-17 (17.6 percent).

I know it is hard to take away too much from an exhibition game; however, I don’t see very many consistent perimeter shooters with this team.

To me, Arizona will live and die by the three, and we will have nights like tonight where the Wildcats are a bit ice cold from deep.

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